Recently, I’ve been reading a lot about Bhutanese/Nepali refugees settling into new homes. It’s news I’ve waited years to hear, but that’s short compared to the time these people have waited to feel welcome somewhere.
While I’m always sympathetic to the plight of refugees, I generally don’t think that them fleeing, or repatriating them, is the best option. I said this in a recent post and I’ll say it again until someone shows me why I’m wrong. The Southern Bhutanese case is different. These people didn’t flee. They were pushed out by a government that saw them as a threat to its independence.
As with most events in life, everyone tells a different story. The facts, as far as I can piece them together, are that in the latter half of last century India annexed Sikkhim and Assam and China annexed Tibet. Bhutan was worried that it would be next so they began enforcing the Code of Conduct that dictated citizens adhere to traditional ways – speaking Dzongkha, wearing ghos and kiras etc – in order to reinforce its cultural distinction.
Nepali immigrants who lived mostly in the south, where it’s too hot for the traditional dress, wanted to maintain their own traditional religion, festivals and to (at least occasionally) dress in traditional Nepali costumes.
In 1990, the Bhutanese king decided to remove any non-Bhutanese people and pushed them into India to find their own way. I’ve heard many reasons for this including fear of a planned Southern-Bhutanese revolution to create democracy; fear that India would use the Southern Bhutanese as an excuse to claim Bhutan was culturally part of India; the need to get rid of illegal immigrants; and that they chose to leave themselves. Beyond the Sky and the Earth is an outdated book in many ways, but it is excellent reading if you want a view of these events from the point of view of an expat living in Bhutan at the time.
These immigrants and their families headed back to Nepal, but were not welcomed. They’ve been living in refugee camps for the last twenty years, unacknowledged by either government. I can’t validate any of the reasons for these people leaving or being pushed out, but the number of stories I heard of the Bhutanese government’s refusal to even discuss the issue made me sympathise with the refugees.
They became pawns in political battles that were ostensibly meant for their own benefit. Even when I lived in Bhutan, I heard that new home countries had been found for 90% of the 100,000 refugees, but no country wanted to take the first step. They wanted Bhutan to admit some responsibility for these people and to take a small percentage back before they themselves began repatriation. I’m not sure what has changed, but I’m happy to see that these refugees are finally able to get on with their lives. From what I’ve seen, they’re making great efforts to become involved in the society of their new homes.